


Fall 2.0

by Koschei_Oakdown



Category: Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Battle, Broken Bones, Face Punching, Fake Character Death, Green Lantern Sinestro, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Regret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 15:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21358396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koschei_Oakdown/pseuds/Koschei_Oakdown
Summary: On a routine mission, Hal plummets into a waterfall and nearly dies. Sinestro doesn't take it well.
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Thaal Sinestro
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Fall 2.0

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624004) by [Koschei_Oakdown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koschei_Oakdown/pseuds/Koschei_Oakdown). 

> Credit to DC Comics

A startled yelp cut through the static overpowering rush of the river. It was an alarm call, one instantly recognisable, and that recognition drove Sinestro to recklessly respond regardless of what he was currently doing. But he couldn't.

Two enemy aliens were attacking him and if he tried to circumvent them, tried to reach Hal's side, he would most likely be torn to shreds before he could be of any help. That would doom both himself and Hal. Yet he also couldn't bring himself to abandon Hal to whatever terrible fate might be about to befall him. To Sinestro, Hal was special and irreplaceable and not someone who should be killed by this cowardly surprise attack.

With an immense and exhausting effort of will, Sinestro blasted both enemies back from him with a construct. It tore through any defence they could've mustered and sent them stumbling away. They weren't down yet though. All the blast had done was buy Sinestro some time. Still, it was enough to allow him to spring in the direction of Hal's shout.

One enemy stood before him, advancing on the cliff edge that fell away into a yellow waterfall. Could that be where Hal was? Somewhere down below, beneath the churning water and unable to breathe? Had Sinestro been too late?

Teeth bared into a vicious snarl, Sinestro tackled Hal's possible murderer to the ground. His power ring was unused on his finger. He didn't need it to show this fool the kind of pain Hal had probably felt. Bones cracked under his fist as he drove it into the alien's face.

"Sinestro!" The panicked gasp was barely audible over the thunderous sound of the waterfall but Thaal heard it regardless. His head whipped around and his eyes caught the white gloved hand clinging to the edge of the cliff. Hal was still alive!

Regaining his reasoning, Thaal pulled back from the enemy he'd been beating up and stumbled to his feet. What mattered here was saving Hal, not getting revenge for a death that hadn't yet happened.

The other two enemy aliens were approaching now and the third lay at Sinestro's feet, stunned. In one elegant move, Sinestro dragged the third enemy up and tossed that stunned body at the other two aliens. All three went down, unmoving and unconscious. They wouldn't be getting up again for some time.

With the immediate danger taken care of, Sinestro dropped to his knees near the edge of the cliff and fastened his fingers around Hal's wrist. He was just in time. The rocks Hal had been clinging to were slippery and his fingers had started to lose their grip.

Cold water cascaded over the long drop in the river bed and it splashed into the river below with incredible force. The golden colour glittered under the sun, beautiful to some perhaps but not to Thaal. Yellow was his ring's only weakness. This waterfall was quite deadly and close to becoming the cause of Hal's destruction. Only Sinestro's personal strength was preventing Hal from falling.

"Hold on," Sinestro instructed, already struggling to pull Hal up. The fight had drained his strength and his muscles were aching, unable to do what he'd asked them to. But he couldn't just give up. There had to be a way to save Hal. Thaal was desperate not to fail.

Blunt nails dug into Sinestro's arm as Hal grabbed him back, fingers squeezing hard enough to leave bruises. "I'm glad you - glad you mentioned that." The exhaustion was obvious in Hal's breathless voice. He'd been trying to prevent himself from falling for some time. "I might've let go otherwise."

Reflexively, Sinestro's fingers tightened. He wouldn't let Hal go anywhere, couldn't bear the thought of losing him. "I can save you," he promised, the words unyielding. An idea occurred to him and he flung his hand out to fix a construct into a nearby rock. Though he willed the construct to tow him and Hal free, nothing happened. It was too weak. Perhaps Sinestro's will was not strong enough or his ring was too affected by the golden spray of the waterfall.

Desperate and frustrated, Thaal once again poured every bit of strength he had into trying to pull Hal up. But the human would not budge. The longer this went on, the less likely it seemed Hal could be saved and Thaal silently raged at everything that had caused this to happen. Hal would not be doomed, he could not be.

"Sinestro." Considering the situation he was in, Hal sounded surprisingly calm. "Sinestro, listen to me." Thaal didn't want to, hated to acknowledge what he was sure Hal would point out to him. That this was a hopeless endeavour, that every second brought Sinestro closer to being pulled over the edge as well. But still, Hal wouldn't be denied and Sinestro glanced down at him.

"If you let me go, you can save yourself. There's no point in both of us dying," Hal explained what was already obvious to both of them. "And hey, I'm a good swimmer. Just you wait, I might survive this." Somehow, he managed a smile and it calmed Thaal down if only a little bit. "Just let me go."

He seemed so sure and everything seemed so hopeless. Sinestro let go. There was very little thinking involved. He just released the muscles in his hand and felt Hal's arm slip away from him. Then the human was gone, disappearing in a blink under the arc of the golden waterfall.

Instant and overpowering regret overcame Sinestro, so strong it was like he was the one in the river, struggling to breathe. It wasn't water he drowned in, however, it was the emotion filling his lungs, his throat, and choking him up. His eyes burned, and the waterfall continued to be an unrelenting force beside him.

How could he have just given up on Hal like that? It had been the only logical thing to do, sure, but an irrational part of Thaal's brain was telling him dying with Hal would have been preferable to living on without him. Never again would he see Hal, never would he hear his voice, nor feel him at his back. It was a miserable future he saw stretching out before him, one where he was totally alone again.

Perhaps Thaal was cursed. Although he'd never set much store by such ridiculous ideas, what else could explain the tragedy of his Green Lantern existence thus far? First Abin, now Hal. He'd failed them both but Hal worst of all.

If Sinestro had only gone over that cliff with Hal, then at least he wouldn't be sitting here, feeling like his whole world had just been gutted of all happiness. Or perhaps he and Hal should've just never come here, then Hal would still be alive and there would be no reason for the world to feel so empty. But no, it was when they'd been attacked that everything had started to go wrong.

A furious fire rose within Thaal as his eyes alighted on the enemy aliens he'd knocked out. This was all their fault! Whoever had sent them would pay, he swore it to himself. He would avenge Hal's murder.

Fully prepared to fight anybody who got in the way of him and his vengeance, Sinestro leapt to his feet, ring glowing ominously on his finger. His vision was blurry and he was shaking, just a little, but he had no time to deal with those things other than to dash his forearm across his eyes. Now, where should he start?

"Sinestro!" In his grief, Thaal recognised he was imagining things like the sound of Hal calling for him. Never again would Hal speak, let alone call his name. "Sinestro?!" Hallucinations had never sounded so clear. It was incredible in a morbid kind of way. "SINESTRO!"

That last call was practically bellowed and Thaal felt the smallest spark of hope that perhaps he wasn't just imagining things. Cautiously, he walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down. Nothing lay below him but the churning foam of where the waterfall smashed into the river. His heart beat fast, every pulse taking a huge effort. Still, he tentatively called, "Jordan?"

"Finally!" came the response, though it was muffled by the sound of the river. "What were you doing up there? Nevermind." The sound of Hal's voice wavered in and out, so Sinestro had to strain to hear. "There's a cave behind the waterfall. I know, super convenient, right? It's a bit of a fall though. I think I got knocked out. And uh, I think my leg might be broken."

Now Thaal knew to listen for it, he could hear the pain in Hal's voice and he itched to be at Hal's side, to protect him from all further pain. For a brief wild moment, he considered jumping into the cave despite the risks. But that was just stupid and would be no help to anyone. He needed to pull himself together and figure this out.

"Don't try to move," Sinestro instructed, eyes quickly scanning around him for a way into the cave other than the obvious. "I'll be there soon." If it came down to it, he would jump but he didn't think it would. He knew what he needed to do.

"Where would I move to on my broken leg?" Hal wondered cheekily and Sinestro only gave an exasperated sigh in response. Still, a slight smile touched his lips and then he was suddenly ecstatic. Hal was in fact not dead and all the light had returned to the world. 

Moving fast, Sinestro ripped into the ground with a construct and would've pulled the whole planet apart if Hal had required it. Away from the waterfall now, his ring was working much better and it helped Sinestro tunnel down to the cave with very little difficulty. He sliced through the rock like it was butter. Nothing would keep him from Hal and the waterfall was suddenly loud once more in his ears.

There was indeed a cave behind the waterfall, just as Hal had said. A glittering curtain of water rained down at the entrance and not far from that was a dark shape lying awkwardly on the rock surface.

Although Thaal was practically dead on his feet at this point, he found the strength to race to Hal's side. The ground was hard and cold under his knees. "Jordan?" For a few seconds, his hands hovered uncertainly above Hal's body before one settled on his shoulder and gently shook him awake.

When Hal stirred and sat up, emitting a quiet groan, Thaal noticed the blood matting the hair on the side of Hal's head. Where he'd been knocked out? It seemed so.

Regret and guilt coarsed through Sinestro so violently that he was galvanised to make amends as best he could. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should never have let go of you. I cannot comprehend what I was thinking." By his side, his hand clenched into a fist and his nails dug into his palm. "Can you forgive me?"

What if Hal hated him now? What if Hal assumed Sinestro had let go of him out of dislike or malicious intention? It wasn't true - at least, Thaal thought it wasn't. Had he secretly been trying to get rid of Hal? No, Hal was his friend. Even a few seconds thinking he was dead had been devastating.

"What are you talking about?" Hal seemed confused and tired. "I told you to drop me. You would've fallen in with me if you hadn't. Then where would we be? Both half dead down here, I'd imagine. Sin, you don't have to apologise. You did the right thing."

How could leaving Hal to die ever be the right thing? The disagreement must've been visible on Sinestro's face for Hal continued, more intensely, "There is nothing you could've done. Nothing. If there had been, then I would've been super annoyed if you dropped me. But there wasn't. Now can you please get over it and get me out of here? I'm freezing."

Even as Hal said it, his teeth chattered together, and his lips had taken on a purplish sheen. Because he'd fallen through the waterfall, he was soaked in water that had been freezing so it was no wonder he was cold. That wasn't all, of course. His leg was still broken and his face was devoid of colour, weak and sickly. There was a distinct possibility that he was still in danger of dying.

After a pause, Sinestro accepted that perhaps there really hadn't been anything he could do. As he moved to pick Hal up however, as his arms wrapped around him to take him to get help, he decided that no matter what, he would not let Hal fall again.


End file.
